Following a second straight win for Lando Norris in 2026 at the F1 Dutch GP, McLaren boss Andrea Stella analysed the race of the Brit and Oscar Piastri.
Having qualified on pole position on Saturday afternoon, the World Champion lost the lead to Kimi Antonelli on the standing restart after the red flag for Max Verstappen’s big shunt. With the Italian pulling out a 2s lead in the first stint when he was on mediums vs Norris on softs, it looked to be a repeat of the Sprint where Mercedes and Ferrari had slightly better pace.
However, as most of the front runners swapped to hards for the last two stints, Lando Norris was mega quick. With Antonelli and Russell struggling quite a bit on the hards, the now 13-time race winner was the fastest driver of the top 3.
Although he did not pass the Italian in the second stint, a seven-lap tyre offset and unbelievable pace meant he caught and passed the championship leader into turn 1 on lap 54 as car #12 failed to clear Lewis Hamilton. The Brit then passed the seven-time World Champion, driving off into the distance at the end.
Despite Antonelli fitting softs for the last 16 laps after pitting under VSC, he barely closed on Norris.
Andrea Stella explains McLaren and Lando Norris gains in 2026 F1 Dutch GP after tricky Sprint
Asked in his print media session about the improvements made between the Sprint when Norris lost 2nd place to Charles Leclerc and only just held off Kimi Antonelli, the Italian Team Principal believes the hard tyre was critical to victory on Sunday. In the Saturday race, the Ferrari driver was on softs, with cars #1, #12 and #63 on mediums.
As Lando Norris has proven time and again in his career, he is exceptionally strong on low grip surfaces or when getting the tyre into the right window is tricky. Antonelli, Russell and Piastri all had difficulties on the hard tyre through Sunday at various points.
“I would like to say that this is the result of all the adjustments that we have made to the car from a set-up point of view, from a driving point of view and also in terms of understanding how to use the tyres.
“But in reality, I think today, like yesterday, the performance between Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren seems to be very, very close.
“But there were some additional variables. I think on medium tyres or softer compound, we were not faster at all. But on the hard tyres, I think Lando had an extra in terms of understanding how to use this compound.
“We could see that this compound today was quite tricky. I think we have seen that with Oscar, very competitive first stint and very difficult second stint. And it was the same for Antonelli, for instance.
“So I think the tyres today, especially the hard compound, had a lot to offer, but it was not easy to go and get it. And I think in these conditions, it’s also where Lando can use his natural ground in terms of conditions in which he can express his natural driving style.
“So I think we have improved the car and we have improved the exploitation from a driving point of view or tyre understanding. But the fact that we used the harder compound today, I think was a bit of an advantage, especially on Lando’s side.”
Stella discusses Oscar Piastri struggles at Zandvoort
Following a relatively encouraging first stint where Oscar Piastri was 7s off the lead and just over 5s adrift of his teammate having gone with hards on the restart, a slow stop cost him 3rd to George Russell.
Initially, he got back within a second of the Mercedes driver. However, he then started to fall away, and the Ferraris came to play. Charles Leclerc got the move for P4 done on lap 34, with Lewis Hamilton following a tour later. From there, the Australian was a lonely, distant P6. He finished 32s behind his winning teammate.
Andrea Stella detailed the struggles the 2025 F1 Dutch GP winner faced with low grip once more. As it arguably cost him the title last year, it is still an area of concern. The Italian explained Piastri could never get the tyres in the window in the second stint, contributing to his severe drop in pace and positions.
“I think last year we had seen already with Oscar that from a technical driving point of view, when the car has this low level of grip, like we saw last year, for instance, in Mexico or in Austin, he needs to adapt the way he drives, the way he thinks, the driving, his expectations.
“And this requires, I would say, a bit of mental effort, which gets him to lose a couple of tenths of a second. Because you sort of have to process rather than drive through pure instinct. Because what happens is what you expect.
“So I think it’s one of those cases in which you have to adapt your natural driving style to the demand of the car. So it stays in the space of driving and in the space of the technical side of things. I don’t think it has anything to do with any psychological kind of opportunity. This is purely technical.
“I think this weekend, actually, we saw Oscar expressing competitive lap times. And I think in the race there were two factors that affected Oscar.”
Two reasons for a tough race
“One was the fact, and this is a team responsibility, that when we pitted to cover Russell, actually we lost the position to Russell because of a slow pit stop. And this is up to the team, not up to Oscar.
“And then this second stint on the hard tyres, we were not able to switch these tyres on. They stayed permanently in a regime of very, very low grip, which we didn’t see in the first stint. So there are a couple of things that we need to work on.”
The close nature of F1 2026 at the Dutch GP
Throughout the weekend, there was mere hundredths to a couple of tenths covering McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari.
Stella pinpointed this as another reason as to why Oscar Piastri could only manage P6 in the 2026 F1 Dutch GP. With the gaps so close, one driver off the pace sees them at the back of the front three.
“But I would also add to this that we are in the phase of Formula 1, in which we have at least three teams that are within one tenth of a second. And as soon as things are not optimised, then you may have a very significant positional loss. So if you’re not optimised, now you are P6.
“It’s very brutal from this point of view. So I think we just have to keep working with Oscar on all the opportunities. And I’m happy with the improvements that I’ve seen during this weekend.
“And I’m sure that there will be even more for the rest of the season.”
